The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-07-06
AN UNKNOWN LAND.
THE UNEMPLOYED INTERIOR
OF PATAGONIA.
Dress and characteristics Of the In
habitants-The Lowest Type
of Humanity-Rich
Gold Fields.

Gle. There have been few explorers WHO
have penetrated into their unknown In
teriors, and the general knowledge of
these countries is necessarily confined and
of no reliable value. In the middle OF
summer the climate is cold, the winds
bitterly cold, and snow squalls frequent,
so that the dark and long winters can be
more easily imagined than described.
In these inhospitable regions wander
nomadic tribes, which manage to subslst
on goat flesh and fish, bread being next
to unknown, and vegetation being of the
scantiest. There is general impression
that the Patagonian is giant. l never
saw one over five feet ten inches IN
height, and most of them were much
shorter, and on the average stunted. The
females have muscular development
equal to the males, and it is sometimes
difficult to distinguish between the sexes,
owing to the masculine appearance OF the
gentlcr sex, the women in most cases
sporting an incipient mustache and beard,
which on the male never grows very
luXuriantly.
Both sexes dress alike. Bleak and
cold as the climate is at the best of times,
the usual dress consists of the skin OF
some wild animal loosely wrapped around
the body. Little children can be seen
running naked over the snow, their we'll.
oiled brown skin apparently impervious
to the biting winds.
As the Patagonian tribes are nomadic,
their temporary dwellings consist of the
branches of trees interviewer so as to form
a. basket-work defense against the
weather. Skins, o:d sails and anketS
also give a shelter which seems to con-
tent the tenants, who are notoriously In
different to the comforts or dlscomtorts
of home Fish, of course, forms the
staple food, and it is thought that few
inhabitants are in the interior, most liv-
ing near the sea for the sake of its food
and the wreckage which occasionally
strews the coast.
Many bound vessels which have
never been heard of have doubtless been
lost on the Patagonian and Fuegian
coasts, and nearly every native has some
trophy cast up by the sea on their iron
shores. There is story of a crew having
succeeded in getting ashore from a
stranded vessel and being murdered by
the savages, with the exception of the
Captains wife, who is said to be still
alive in the interior, dragging out mis-
erable existence as the wife of some
dusky chief.
Steamers passing through the Straits of
Magellan are often met by the canoes of
Indians the women paddling), who
eagerly look for ships bread or any other
article thrown them. I noticed one set
of Indians had handsome ships boat,
said to have belonged to some foundcred
vessel.
The Patagonians are just one step re-
moved from cannibalS, but their neigh
bors, the Fuegians, are said to enjoy hu-
man flesh, and indulge in dreadful orgies
over any prisoners or shipwrecked sailors
who fall into their hands. The TERRA del
Fuegians represent the lowest type of
humanity found on the globe. They have
no deity, no moral code, not one custom
or habit which can be called intelligent.
Of large stature, some imposingly so,
they are perfectly british in their in
stincts, without any redeeming attributes
which belong to the brute creation.
On this terrible mass of barbarism the
Church of England Missionary Society
has tried to make some impression. The
missionary, Mr.. Bridge, has devoted his
whole life to try and organize some kind
of order among them. They have been
taught to grow cereals and build houses,
and two of the natives were taken to Lon
don, but the good work only extends for
q short distance beyond the Mission set
tlement.
TERRA del Fuego, from Magellan to
Cape Horn, is sea of mountains. Wild
animals arc rare and the only birds are the
albatross, the sea gull and the Cape
pigeon. Half the missing vessels re-
ported which have to 60 round the Horn
are supposed to be lost on this barren
island and nobody ever lives to tell the
tale.
Crossing over to Patagonia, we have
Punta Arenas, more generally known as
Sandy point, a Chilean penal settlement
and coaling station. Among the milder
tempered and more intelligent Patagoni-
ans life in this little town, though lonely,
is not without its attractions. The main
street boasts of some substantial houses,
there is tort, Governors residence, con-
vict barracks and respectable custom
house and jetty. The inhabitants about
500) are mixed population of Scotch,
Chilean, English and natives. Most Of
the English-speaking part of the settle
ment represent different houses in the
fur trade. The Governor is polite and
hospitable and is always anxious to amuse
the casual visitor to the best of his abil-
ity. A collection of rare skins, feathers
and ostrich eggs meets the eye in every
house.
The convict establishment is well con-
Quoted, and the prisoners have a great
deal of liberty. Here every nationality
under the sun is represented, most of the
foreigners undergoing their sentences for
enlightenment and fraud. The Chilcans
punish the above offenses very severely,
a ten-year sentence being considered
light. The evenings are passed in sing
ing and dancing to the music of the
ubiquitous guitar.
Near the town are coal mines, which
produce a tolerably good fuel, but all
minerals in this large country are wait
ing for capital and hardy workers who
can defy hardship and brave dangers.
Patagonia is essentially mineral country.
On the eastern coast the Argentine Re-
public encourages miners with liberal
concessions and valuable privileges, the
result being the extraction of gold in